The Christmas and exam break comes at exactly the halfway mark of the U Sports volleyball season. A dozen games in, we have a clear picture of which teams will be chasing the division title, and which ones will be fighting for a playoff spot in February.

Men’s Volleyball

A late-November crash against Thompson Rivers is one of the few blemishes on the record of the Alberta Golden Bears volleyball team.

At the halfway point, the team has a 9-3 record and is still ranked No. 5 in the country after last year’s silver medal at nationals.

The Bears started off the year 6-0 before splitting a two-game series with previously undefeated UBC in mid-November. But with 3-1 and 3-0 losses at Trinity Western the following week, the Bears now have their work cut out for them.

In the next 12 games, Alberta has five teams ahead of them and will not get another crack at either Trinity Western or UBC for the remainder of the regular season.

They will play six games against Brandon and Calgary who share equivalent 9-3 records, as well as Winnipeg, currently at 10-2. Those will be the primary opportunities to ascend in the standings. As the sixth seed, the Bears would have to face the third seed in the playoff quarterfinals.

Twelfth-place MacEwan, meanwhile, is currently four games out of the playoff picture with a 1-11 record. The Griffins beat seventh seeded Manitoba 3-2 in November, showing they have the potential to compete for a playoff spot.

January will be a crucial month for the Griffins, who play the ninth, 11th and 13th place clubs six times before a tough six-game February stretch against playoff contenders. If MacEwan cannot pile up a few victories in January, a playoff berth would be hard to imagine.

In ACAC, NAIT finds itself tied with first place Keyano College with an 11-3 record to start the season. Tied for third place is The King’s University, who are 5-7 through their first 12 games. TKU will need a solid stretch run to keep their playoff spot, as they are one of five teams within two games of each other chasing just two playoff spots.

Women’s Volleyball

At 7-5, the U of A Pandas volleyball squad are in the thick of the Canada West playoff race. Currently in fourth place, the No. 8 nationally ranked team steered the ship in the right direction in their final set of the first half earlier this month.

Trying to escape a slump where they had lost four games in their final five November contests, the Pandas stormed Thompson Rivers for two dominating victories to give themselves some breathing room.

The Pandas hold a two-game cushion over 11th place Regina. In January, it is clear that a poor weekend could throw the Pandas to the outside of the eight-team playoff field looking in.

Ten of the team’s 12 remaining games will be against foes that are in the playoff race, with their only relatively easy weekend set coming against 1-11 Winnipeg in February.

Otherwise, the Pandas will be fighting with everything on the line starting on Jan. 5 against UBC Okanagan, who sit a game ahead of the Pandas at 8-4.

The Griffins, meanwhile, are looking for their first victory of the season after an 0-12 start. Injuries, misfortune and a tough schedule.

Four of the six teams they have faced have winning records so far this season, and the only team that joins MacEwan as playoff longshots is Winnipeg, who the Griffins do not meet until the final weekend of the season on Feb. 16.

Until then, the Griffins will have to pull off an upset if they hope to earn their first victory. Undoubtedly, the 6-6 Saskatchewan Huskies will be facing a determined and desperate MacEwan squad when play resumes on Jan. 5.

In the ACAC, The Kings University and NAIT are battling for second place in the North Division. Each team has nine wins, though TKU has played only 12 games, two less than NAIT. The teams are six points back of 12-0 Lakeland College.

If the playoffs were to start today, NAIT would face a strong 9-3 club from Red Deer, while TKU would welcome 8-3 Lethbridge.